When the Arizona Wildcats take the field for Saturday’s contest against the USC Trojans, offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll might have the “Cheers” theme song running through his head.
You know: “You want to go where everybody knows your name.”
Carroll, the son of legendary USC coach Pete Carroll, will return to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the first time in a college setting since the 2009 season. The Trojans were at their best then, winning two national championships, four Rose Bowls and seven Pac-10 titles between 2001-09. The program produced Heisman Trophy winners Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer and at one point owned a 34-game winning streak.
The younger Carroll was in the middle of it all, serving as a graduate assistant and tight ends coach for the Trojans before moving on to the University of Miami and then the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, where Pete Carroll is still the coach. Arizona coach Jedd Fisch hired Carroll off the Seahawks’ staff, where he served as run game coordinator.
Carroll reflected on his time at USC, the “bumps and bruises” and how the Trojans weathered the storm in the beginning stages.
How personal or special is this week for you?
A: “We’re going 1-0, nothing else. We’re trying to go 1-0. It’ll be a great challenge and it’ll be fun to be back at the Coliseum. I got to play there a couple times (as a coach) when the (Seahawks) were playing the Rams, so all that nostalgia stuff we did earlier and came back after being gone for about four or five years. It’s just another game, but we gotta find a way to win.”
What was that moment like for you returning to the Coliseum for the first time as an NFL coach?
A: “After being away for five years, it was great to be back there and it’s great to play games there. It’s one of the few remaining places in college football that has its own aura about it, so it’s always fun to play there.”
What do you take away from your time at USC?
A: “We weren’t a perfect program. We walked into USC and it was one of the worst teams they had and we were able to build it from there. There were some bumps and bruises along the way, so I feel like it was great training for building this program. We also had a rough patch in Miami, so this is what we’re here for and why I showed up.”
What were some examples of the bumps and bruises?
A: “Just the growing pains of learning a new system and trying to build your culture. It’s all over the map. Stuff these kids have to deal with, with certain coordinators, position coaches, different head coaches, different styles, it’s not easy. But, this is what we’re here for, so we’re excited about the challenge.”
How was it when your father was named head coach at USC?
A: “Probably similar to when Coach (Jedd) Fisch was hired here. I know it wasn’t the media’s favorite choice. Back in the day, when you could send faxes, we got a bunch of nasty faxes through the USC phone lines. It’s all documented. It’s like when you get nasty emails, but instead it came through on a machine with a rolling printer. I’m sure it’s documented somewhere, but I don’t know the exact verbiage on it. It was bad. There were people actually calling for people’s jobs and lives.”
USC football coach Pete Carroll, left, and tight end coach Brennan Carroll, right, congratulate quarterback Matt Barkley following a touchdown in a 2009 game.
How did he deal with that, especially at a program like USC, which has great tradition?
A: “You just have to ignore the noise and just stay focused on the task at hand and do whatever it takes to make the team special, and get them to a place where they can compete for championships. All the other stuff is distractions.”
When did the Carroll era take a turn back to national relevancy?
A: “His first year at USC was my last year at Pittsburgh, and our bye week coincided with the USC-UCLA game, so I gotta go see that and I think they shut out UCLA and went to a bowl game. They were 5-5 and the win got them (to a bowl game), so that was the first time everyone went, ‘Oh, this is a pretty cool situation.’ Then the next year started rough and I think we lost to Kansas State early; I think we also lost to Cal that year and then we won a bunch of games and were playing really good at the end of the season. Those were situations where we had to start somewhere and then just continue to build.”
Why did it become a perfect storm for USC at that time?
A: “To have a veteran quarterback like Carson Palmer, who was the first pick of the (NFL) draft, and Troy Polamalu, those guys were in the program and were already going to be great leaders. That helped a lot. But then it got going after the first or second recruiting class. You get a couple of guys in there that want to do the same battle that you went out to go fight. That changed the trajectory.”
I’m sure you’ve seen ESPN’s 30-for-30 documentary about USC’s run under your dad; what did you think?
A: “I’ve heard there’s one … Yeah, I watched it. It’s just a cool memory and we always talk about how each season was its own story. You play your tail off and then you hope to make a cool DVD at the end of the season to remember it, but (the documentary) is just another way to remember it at that time.”
Where do you rank USC among best jobs in America?
A: “All I could say from when we were there 50 years ago, it was a blast and it felt like it was as good of a job as it gets in college.”
What is your fondest memory of being at USC?
A: “Being around the kids and being around the other coaches. Those relationships that you have, it was just a cool bond that you got to form and nothing is going to change that. … There’s a bunch of fun (memories). All of the rivalry games — we got to win some national championships there as well. They all mash together, but it was fun to develop those guys and coach a bunch of great players, great coaches. It was just great to work there.”
